1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a seat assembly for an automotive vehicle, and more particularly, to a release mechanism for automatically displacing the seat assembly from an upright seating position to a stowed position recessed within the floor of an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive vehicles include seat assemblies for supporting occupants within the vehicle. The seat assemblies typically include a seat cushion and a seat back operatively coupled to the seat cushion by a recliner mechanism for allowing selective pivotal adjustment of the seat back relative to the seat cushion between a plurality of reclined seating positions. The seat back is also commonly moveable between any one of the reclined seating positions and a generally horizontal fold flat position overlying the seat cushion to present a load floor surface on the back of the seat back.
It is also known in the automotive seating art to mount a riser assembly between the seat cushion and the floor of the vehicle for moving the seat assembly between a seating position, with the seat back in one of the reclined seating positions and the seat cushion spaced above the floor, and a stowed position, with the seat back in the fold flat position and the seat assembly stowed within a recess in the floor of the vehicle. The seat assembly typically includes a first release mechanism for actuating the recliner mechanism to provide pivotal movement of the seat back between the reclined seating positions and the fold flat position and a separate second release mechanism for actuating the riser assembly to provide movement of the seat assembly between the seating position and the stowed position.
It is also common to provide a head restraint mounted to the top of the seat back for supporting the head of the seat occupant. The head restraint is typically pivotal between an upright support position and a forwardly folded position against the seat back to allow pivotal movement of the seat back to the fold flat position. A separate third release mechanism is generally provided to actuate the head restraint between the support position and folded position.
It remains desirable to provide a single release mechanism which sequentially actuates each of the head restraint, recliner mechanism, and riser assembly to provide automatic movement of the seat assembly between the upright seating position and the stowed position recessed within the floor of the vehicle.